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It's 9pm on Saturday night, but all along London's Edgware Road the smell of apple-scented tobacco and the burble of conversation spilling out of shisha bars replaces the usual rowdy crowds and throb of loud music.
In bars like this all over Britain, from Bradford to London, Muslim men socialise, drink sweet tea, and smoke. The bars form an important part of North African and Middle Eastern society and exist here for predominantly first- or second-generation immigrant customers.
But the government's proposed smoking ban could mean the end of the bars. Now Labour MPs and ministers have a free vote on the issue, a complete ban on smoking in pubs and clubs in England looks increasingly likely, rather than the partial ban originally proposed. Shisha bar owners fear they will be forced out of business.
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A public smoking ban could kill an important social habit for Muslim men, says matt ford |
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"We won't single out the Muslim community for special treatment," says the Home Office. The Department of Health confirms: "The health concerns are the same as for any other public bar. Shisha bars will be affected by the proposed ban."
But some bar owners eager to protect their livelihoods are already planning to use a legal loophole. "It all depends on the wording of the law," says the manager of Masti-Shisha in Bradford, who is also a lawyer. "A total ban on smoking would affect us, but if it only specifies tobacco-based products we may be able to exploit that by using herbal, fruit-flavoured smoking mixtures."
If so, then ensuring the future legal operation of shisha bars could depend on the politically uncomfortable spectacle of police - literally - sniffing around the streets of Britain trying to distinguish burning herbs from tobacco.  FIRST POSTED JANUARY 18
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